Ban the Bones: British MPs Discuss Banning Skeletal Catwalk Models

After being repeatedly told to lose weight and slim “down to the bone”, 23-year-old size 8 Model Rosie Nelson  began a petition to protect models from being forced to lose unhealthy amounts of weight.

Her petition has since gained over 55,000 signatures and this has prompted British MPs to consider banning extremely underweight models.

Caroline Nokes, MP who heads the All Parliamentary Party Group on body image, will lead an investigation into whether thin models should be banned from catwalks.

The inquiry is set to begin in November and Nokes hopes to introduce a code of conduct or, if necessary, legislation to combat this problem.

“Legislation should be a last resort, but I’m conscious the fashion industry isn’t responding to calls for change,” she said. “We would prefer a code of conduct, if we could feel confident it would be adhered to.”

Nelson, creator of the petition, is a healthy size 8 to 10 however modeling agencies repeatedly tell her to lose weight.

“When I walked into one of the UK’s biggest model agencies last year they told me I ticked all the boxes except one — I needed to lose weight. So I did,” she said.

“Four months later I lost nearly a stone, 2 inches off my hips. When I returned to the same agency they told me to lose more weight, they wanted me ‘down to the bone’.”

Although Nelson is healthy, she believes that models need to be protected from the pressure to be emaciated and mandatory health checks need to be put in place.

“When I look in the mirror I see someone that is healthy and comfortable in their skin. That’s because I had the guts to carve out my own path and refuse to let people pressure me into losing more and more weight,” Nelson said.

“But with London Fashion Week the reminders are everywhere that we need a law to protect young girls, and boys, who are put under pressure to be dangerously thin.”

Earlier this year France banned models with a BMI of less than 18. If any agencies or designers are found to have broken this law, they could face a fine or up to 6 months in prison.

Spain was the second country to follow this trend by banning models with a BMI of less than 18 from walking runways however Nelson believes body mass index is an inadequate measure of health.

“I don’t think BMI is the right measure, because many models I know are size six to eight, and very conscious of their health and fitness,” the model said.

“I would prefer a mandatory health check for models every three to six months, which would be an incentive for agencies to take better care of the models they work with, making sure they’re healthy.”

Although there are models who are naturally extremely thin, this is not the norm.

“There are always going to be some people who are naturally that thin but for the majority, it is not a body shape that is attainable healthily,” Nelson said.

“We have to bear in mind that many of the girls entering the industry are very young, and are very likely to want to do whatever it takes to succeed.”

Well, that’s all for now.

Until next time,

SR

To sign the petition and contribute to changing the legislation, visit https://www.change.org/p/dcms-create-a-law-to-protect-models-from-getting-dangerously-skinny-lfw-modelslaw